Salt restaurant files for bankruptcy

Salt, a Central West End restaurant that racked up accolades since opening in April 2011, filed for bankruptcy Monday.

American Larder LLC, doing business as Salt, filed for voluntary Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Missouri. In a statement, the company said litigation with its landlord and tax liabilities led to the filing.

The restaurant, located at 4356 Lindell Blvd., listed between 50 and 99 creditors, up to $50,000 in assets and $100,000 to $500,000 in estimated liabilities, according to the court filing.

Salt’s largest unsecured creditors include New York-based Merchant Advanced Funding LP for $76,500; the Internal Revenue Service for $75,436; Chicago-based Rewards Network Establishment Services for $41,000; and the Missouri Department of Revenue for $35,929, according to the filing.

Ta Daa LLC also filed a claim for $21,145 in lease payments, which is disputed.

Salt opened on a shoestring budget of $50,000. Investors included Chef Wes Johnson, who left the restaurant this past spring, along with David Scott, chief technology officer at Global Drug Testing Services, bar manager Matt Obermark and Armando Siliceo-Roman, vice president of client services at Blade Technologies Inc.

In a statement, Scott said the bankruptcy would not affect day-to-day operations at Salt. The restaurant will remain open, with no interruptions to employee compensation or primary vendor payments, as it goes through a restructuring. "We are passionate about serving the freshest ingredients and creating an incredible experience for each customer," Scott said. "This restructuring will help us continue to deliver on this commitment for years to come."

Salt was named a 2012 James Beard Award semi-finalist for “Best New Restaurant.”

In May, Johnson left the restaurant and took over as chef at Cafe Pintxos at the Hotel Ignacio at 3441 Olive. He’s been working on other projects, as well, including a restaurant called Fixe with chef Brendan Noonan of Harvest restaurant.